Hawai‘i County is the first in the state and one of the first municipalities in the nation to pass legislation regulating where licensed firearms can be carried with a valid permit.
After weeks of work and hours of discussion and testimony, the Hawai‘i County Council on Wednesday adopted Bill 220, detailing several “sensitive places” where carrying a licensed firearm, concealed or not, will be prohibited on the Big Island.
The bill now goes to Mayor Mitch Roth for his consideration.
Bill 220 comes on the heels of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June that struck down a New York gun law that required people to demonstrate a specific need for carrying a handgun in public in order to get a concealed carry license. Hawai‘i is one of six other states with similar laws.
The decision already has led to a spike of concealed carry permit applications on the Big Island.
The high court said there are places that have historically been viewed as “sensitive places,” where gun restrictions could be put in place, such as government buildings and schools. The Supreme Court also did not say it would attempt to limit those places; jurisdictions have the right to limit where firearms can be carried as long as there is historical context.
This is why Hawai’i County has passed the new law that specifies its “sensitive places” where anybody who has a license to carry still cannot carry a firearm. Those “sensitive places” are:
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